Tribe helps rewrite national textbook on Quileute lore

An international textbook company has rewritten a children’s book on traditional Quileute stories with the help of a Quileute teacher and the Tribal Council.

A freshly rewritten paperback book, Quileute Legends, will be released next year as part of the third-grade curriculum literacy book set after members of the tribe discovered errors in the stories that were distributed nationwide.

In preparation for the 2013 school year, Quileute School ordered a new set of books from McGraw-Hill textbook publishers as part of a curriculum overhaul.

When the order arrived, Quileute Tribal Council member Justin “Rio” Jaime, then the school’s Quileute culture and language instructor, discovered that the third-grade reading packet included Quileute Legends, a thin paperback book written by New York author Yoko Mia Hirano and published in 2007.

“It was quite a surprise. We didn’t know this book was out there,” Jaime said.

Jaime read through the short book.

“I don’t recognize these stories,” he said.

The stories started and ended correctly but were muddled in the middle, Jaime added.